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I leaned forward.

“I still don’t like you,” she whispered, her hand dropping to my forearm. A shiver danced beneath her fingers.

“That’s fine with me,” I mumbled as her breath brushed against my skin like the gentle wisps of a breeze during a lope through the fresh morning air.

“This never happened,” she added.

“What never happened?” I replied, grabbed her cheeks, and crashed my lips against hers.

Her chest rose, a gasp slipped between her teeth, and she melted against my kiss. Fervency filled the space between us as I pressed deeper against her mouth. My body roared hot; a buzzing quieted the back of my mind as her velvet taste intensified with mine.

Not a thing mattered outside of the fact that I was kissing her. That she was kissing me back. That we were tangled in an embrace that would never be forgotten.

The tips of her fingers dug into my forearm, and she leaned against me, wrapping her free hand behind my neck. My lips moved with aggression and desperation that was mirrored with her own passionate response. She shifted beneath my touch, and her legs suddenly wrapped around my waist. Driving harder, tighter against her mouth, I ran the tip of my tongue over her swollen lips.

She gasped, opening her mouth, and I shoved my tongue between her teeth. Closer, there was a neediness that drove me to be closer to her. Each hot swipe of her honey-like lick against mine powered the heightened vibrations humming deep within my core. As I explored her mouth, she fought with my tongue, and the wet barrier that danced between us crumbled upon contact. Her fingers tugged at the ends of the hair peeking out beneath my hat.

I slid my hands down from her cheeks, grabbing her hips and rocking her into my body. She shuddered, breaking the kiss just long enough to gasp for air, and then dove in again. My heart pounded into my ribs, begging to burst free as the gap between us was swallowed by whatever spell she had put on me.

“Cassidy,” she breathlessly moaned against my lips.

“Hmmm?” I replied, diving back in for more. A fever roared in my body, driving me insane by the sweetness of her taste.

She spoke against my mouth. “I hate how much I like this.” Grabbing the end of her braid, I tugged, and her tongue slid out from between my teeth.

A gasp escaped her lips as I pressed my other hand hard against her lower back, pulling harder on her hair to expose her neck. A beautiful, untouched collarbone awaited my kiss, and I leaned forward, sliding my tongue against her salty skin.

I welcomed the taste of her sweat, my heart racing faster and faster with each pass of my mouth over her skin. My body ran hot, whether from the heat of the sun or from the fire that roared around us, threatening to have me losing all of my self-control, I wasn’t sure.

Bucking against me, she dug her fingers into my arms as I nipped at her neck, just below her ear. “Cassidy,” she shakily groaned.

I didn’t answer, couldn’t answer. My mind cared about nothing but the fact that I was here with this beautiful woman.

“We should…” Her voice trailed off as I lifted my lips to hover over her mouth and opened my eyes.

“Yes, Goldie?” I whispered, skimming my kiss against the velvet that waited.

“Never mind,” she gushed and slammed her lips back against mine. Tipping up, her entire body trying to close the gap that didn’t exist between us, she pushed my hat off my head and weaved her fingers through my hair.

Slamming my eyelids closed as she grabbed some of my hair and leaned my head back, her tongue shoved between my teeth once more, and my soul ached. I’d never been kissed like this; there wasn’t a moment before that compared to the innocent passion that roared raw between us.

A hot summer day turned to a hot summer kiss that had me moaning against her mouth. Lips, fiery and swollen, left mine and trailed over to my ear; she bit lightly down on my earlobe and then brushed a wet trail down my neck.

Stars spun in my blackened vision, and my eyes opened to the blue sky above. Golden rays danced across the canvas, the light breath of wind reminding me that there was nothing out here but the two of us.

It was too soon, I knew that, but I didn’t care. All thought left my mind as I tugged her mouth away from me and met her gaze. Her brows twitched, briefly, and then a smile filled her lips. Bedroom eyes were my answer, and I dove back against her mouth as she ripped my shirt open.

And the booming squeal of a horse snapped my gaze away from Briar.

Chapter 11

BRIAR

My fingers tightened around Cassidy’s pearl snap shirt as both of us watched a squirrel fly off Bud’s rump. The critter soared like an acrobat through the air. Bud bucked a couple more times, snorting and squealing as that poor squirrel shrieked. Suspended like a balloon, the brown, furry rodent rotated mid-toss, then began plummeting back to the forest floor.

“Well, dadgum, I always thought flyin’ squirrels were nocturnal,” Cassidy mumbled, and I rolled my eyes, slapping his arm lightly. A chuckle vibrated from his bare chest as the critter managed to latch a tiny paw on a branch, breaking his fall, and then scurry off into the pine needles.

My gaze slipped back to Bud, whose butt disappeared around the group of trees the squirrel now chattered aggressively from. The final sight of him was his tail flicking up behind his hooves, which sent up a plume of dust.